High School Football: Defense sparks Ledyard

Marc Allard

Wednesday

Nov 28, 2007 at 12:01 AMNov 28, 2007 at 10:25 PM

LEDYARD — In the Ledyard High School defensive playbook, it’s called “snake gung-ho” and it put the bite on the Weaver Beavers.

The Colonels used it to stuff Weaver on a fourth down and goal at the two-yard line in the first quarter, and the momentum the Colonels built from that led them to a state championship game on Saturday.

LEDYARD — In the Ledyard High School defensive playbook, it’s called “snake gung-ho” and it put the bite on the Weaver Beavers.

The Colonels used it to stuff Weaver on a fourth down and goal at the two-yard line in the first quarter, and the momentum the Colonels built from that led them to a state championship game on Saturday.

The Colonels shut down Weaver after that little scare and posted a 28-0 win Tuesday night at Ledyard High over the Beavers to give veteran coach Bill Mignault a chance at his fourth state championship but first in Class M. The previous three titles have come in Class MM or M-II as it was known before that in 1986, ‘91 and ‘93. The No. 2 Colonels will meet No. 4 Berlin, a 35-28 winner Tuesday night over top-seed Bristol Eastern, at a time and site that will be released this morning at the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference offices during a luncheon for all the state championship competitors.

The Beavers had the chance to build their own momentum early as Ledyard quarterback Marc Mignault was intercepted by Andre Campbell at the Colonels 48-yard line on Ledyard’s fifth offensive play of the game. Campbell returned the ball to the Ledyard six but three John Rowley runs later, the Beavers advanced it only halfway to the Ledyard goal. On fourth down, the Colonels came out looking like they were in a four man line but quickly rushed four more players forward to fill the gaps. The ball was handed to Rowley who attempted to follow the right side of his line but Ledyard linebacker Stephen Jenkinson was there to meet the running back at the one.

“I came around the outside and hit him,” the senior said. “I got a shoulder on him but I was worried because I didn’t wrap him up but he met the pile as he went down.”

Fellow linebacker Julian Hightower said that play set the tone for the remainder of the game..

“I don’t know what got into our defense but we have something in us that we’ve never had before, that play shut them down and broke them down and, after that, we knew we had them,” Hightower said.

That was followed by probably the happiest three minutes and nine seconds on the Ledyard sideline in a long time as the Colonels (9-1) essentially won the game thanks to three Weaver turnovers which led to three rapid-fire Colonel touchdowns.

A Ledyard punt had backed up Weaver (9-2) to its own seven-yard line and after two running plays that went a yard in reverse, a Weaver fumble was recovered on the Beaver three-yard line by J.J. Jablonski.

Tim McNeil (31 carries, 218 yards) went over the left side twice and the second dive brought with seven points to put the Colonels on the scoreboard first.

It would be less than a minute later that the Colonels would be up by 14 as the kickoff was fumbled by Weaver and recovered by the Colonels Jeff Bednarek at the Beavers 24.

McNeil swept left for 13, Jenkinson went up the gut for one and McNeil came back to score from 10 yards out as he broke four tackles en route to the left corner of the end zone.

Weaver had more adversity on the following kickoff as an illegal block dropped it back to its own 12 but quarterback Carl Maloney finally got something going when he connected with Maurice Campbell at the Weaver 49. But before the Weaver receiver could tuck it in, the ball was popped out from behind and picked in mid-air by Ledyard’s Denzel Allen who returned it to the Weaver 27. A personal foul moved the ball to the 13 and Ledyard followed two plays and one five-yard penalty later with one of its few passes of the night. Marc Mignault (2-7 passing, 35 yards) connected with McNeil on a 16-yard screen to make it 21-0 with 5:54 left in the half.

“I was tired,” McNeil said of the three-minute Ledyard blitz. “It was just perfect execution of the plays and that screen pass was perfect, you couldn’t write it up any better.”

Marc Mignault scored the final touchdown of the game for Ledyard and the only one in the second half when he intercepted a Maloney pass and returned it 35 yards for the touchdown with 4:13 left in the game.

It seemed only fitting for Marc Mignault scoring the last touchdown in his last game and possibly his grandfather’s last game as coach on Ledyard’s home field.

“I’m sure it is something that he (Bill Mignault) will remember for the rest of his life. I’m sure I will remember it for the rest of mine too because it was my last game at home and knowing that I scored my last touchdown on defense, it’s going to be something I’m going to savor and I will cherish this game forever,” Marc Mignault said.